Mini Mayhem

[Stingray]

After a couple of months of searching I finally found a suitably dead cab for a MAME conversion. This is a Blueprint cab. I really like the side art, but it's too rough to use. The entire cabinet will be refinished, but I haven't decided on what type of artwork to use on it yet.





-S

[Stingray]

Mockup of my control panel layout. I know most of you guys think this is backward, but I prefer buttons on the left, so that's the way I'm building it. The buttons on the front of the panel will be pause, tab (for accessing the setup menu) player one start & player 2 start.

-S

[Sasquatch!]

I've never heard of Blueprint.  Huh.

Good luck with your project!

[Generic Eric]

I've never heard of Blueprint.  Huh.

Good luck with your project!

There is a game called Blue Print in mame.  Might be the same one

[HagHore]

You could always go with Stargate artwork as I believe that is the same style of cab.

[Stingray]

I hadn't heard of Blueprint either,actually. I'd love to keep the artwork that's on it, but it's in much worse shape than the pictures indicate.

Stargate is pretty similar now that you mention it. A little different control panel shape and the monitor slants back farther in this one, but it's pretty close. I may keep that in mind if I decide to to a reproduction cab. Right now I'm leaning toward original artwork, but I haven't actually sat down to design anything yet.

I intended to make a metal CP last night, but when I got to the shop I couldn't find a peice big enough to use. Gonna have to buy some sheet metal. Spent last night slinging wire instead.

-S

[Stingray]

Over the last couple of nights I removed all of the old artwork, even with a heat gun, the decals came off in little pieces, because someone at some point ran a pocket knife all over them and sliced them into little chunks. I'm glad I'm past that part - very tedious. I've got the cab down to just an empty box. The plan is to paint it this weekend. It will be black with blue t-molding. I've got some preliminary design work going for the new graphics, but nothing I'm ready to show yet. If all goes according to plan I should have pics of the cab sporting it's new paint job by Monday.

-S

[Stingray]

Spent all day Saturday filling holes, deep scratches & gouges with auto body filler. I did so much sanding my arms feel like they're going to fall off! My original intention was to use two part urethane because it's extremely durable, but I ended up using automotive grade enamel instead because I was given some (okay, so I'm cheap). I did put a lot of hardener in the mix though, so after it's had a few days to fully cure it should be pretty tough finish. I'm pretty happy with the results:



I'd love to hear some comments.

-S

[PedroSilva]

Very nice that glossy finish ...

[Stingray]

Thanks. My dad has owned a body shop for the last 35 years, and I practicly grew up in the shop. As a result, I'm pretty handy with a paint gun.

It doesn't show, but the inside (the area around the monitor) is a flat black. I did this to cut down on glare.

-S

[BobbyG66]

Big improvement, looks good.

Good idea with the flat finish in the monitor area. Will keep that in mind when building my cab...

[Stingray]

Good idea with the flat finish in the monitor area. Will keep that in mind when building my cab...

I'll be happy to report how it works after I've got everything reassembled & running.

-S

[patrickl]

Yeah that sure looks nice.

Cool idea to use "car paint". Seeing that I wonder why noone used the "chameleon paint" (which changes color when you pass the car) on his cab yet  

[Stingray]

Two reasons spring readilly to mind. One, it's super expensive stuff, as much as $1000 a gallon. Two, it will show every little tiny imperfection under the paint.

Er... and it's fantasticly ugly, but that's just my opinion.    

I apreciate the compliments. Just about to start working on it right now.

-S

[patrickl]

Er... and it's fantasticly ugly, but that's just my opinion.    

He, he, you might have a point there, but I assumed it was the goal of an arcade cabinet to be as tacky as possible and this stuff would just SCREAM tacky

Forgot to ask earlier, but since you seem to be "hunting" for Galaga art, I guess you are not going with the Stargate theme?

[Stingray]

No, not doing Stargate. Not really doing Galaga either, I'm working on a bit of "semi-original" art that's based on the overall look of a Galaga cab.

-S

[Stingray]

Got the t-molding on and started putting some of the guts back inside it last night.



-S

[Stingray]

My not-quite-finished artwork is now posted in the artwork forum:

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=13;action=display;threadid=15686

I'd appreciate any feedback you guys may have to offer.

-S

[JamesS]

Your cabinet looks good Stingray.

I am close to finishing up my control panel area, without painting it yet.  Going to hopefully be putting the Monitor shelf in there soon.  Bought the plywood for it anyway.

[Stingray]

James, good luck with yours. I got really lucky with my monitor mounting. I pulled the arcade monitor, took my PC monitor out of it's plastic case, and it just fit perfectly in the hole left behind by the arcade monitor. No modification needed at all. All I had to do was screw it down.

Hopefully I'll get my control panel painted tonight and I'll be able to hook it up tomorrow. I am so ready to play test this thing!

-S

[Stingray]

Finished the metal CP, ready to install buttons & sticks. I decided to just spray some primer on it and call it good. It's going to get an overlay anyway.





-S

[patrickl]

Man you work fast! At this rate you'll have that cab done in a week or something.

I wish I could do a metal CP too. This looks so professional   I have been messing about with MDF and Lexan with mixed success so far (so far it's Lexan vs Me 1 - 0)  

BTW, Why did you make the holes for the joysticks so large? Do you plan to install them by sticking the whole ball through the panel? Or is it that the button holes are smaller than usual?

[Stingray]

I used a Cyberball CP as a template to trace my joystick holes. That's the size they were on that panel, and yes, they're large enough to stick the ball up through the bottom of the panel. They're still small enough that the dust covers cover the hole when the joystick is pushed in any direction though.

Here's the panel with the sticks & buttons in it. Nothing is hooked up yet though.



I don't think I'm going to use those two Atari sticks, they don't move as freely as I'd like. I'll probably get a set of new 8 ways to replace them.

-S

[PedroSilva]

Hi,

What color will you use to cover the CP ?
Because if it's black, some of the buttons might die a little, no ?
 

[Stingray]

Good point Pedro. At this point my overlay design is mostly black with some blue border. Again, it's similar in design to a Galaga CP. Maybe I should consider going with all blue buttons and get rid of the black ones. What do you think?

-S

[PedroSilva]

Good point Pedro. At this point my overlay design is mostly black with some blue border. Again, it's similar in design to a Galaga CP. Maybe I should consider going with all blue buttons and get rid of the black ones. What do you think?

-S

Well, in my humble opinion, it seems that you want to give some effect on the CP by crossing the colors of the buttons. If that's what you want, you may change the black buttons to another color (for instance, dark blue) and you would stell get that effect even if the CP is totaly black, or you can put them all in light blue, matching the T-molding ... should also look nice ...
 

[Stingray]

Do you know of someone who sells more than one color of blue buttons? These were the only shade of blue that I could find. The CPO will also have some orange in it. Maybe I should use orange buttons instead.

-S

[pathdoc2]

Very nice metal work.  How did you cut those holes?  How did you bend the metal sheet?

[menace]

Holy crap man--you must have a clone army assembling your stuff!  Control panel looks great--who would have thought that a body shop could make such great arcade cabinets--tell them they should hire you full time for paint and metal work!

[PedroSilva]

Do you know of someone who sells more than one color of blue buttons? These were the only shade of blue that I could find. The CPO will also have some orange in it. Maybe I should use orange buttons instead.

-S

Well ... I'm in Portugal and I got my buttons from a local dealer. He gets the parts in Spain at this company:

http://www.industrias-lorenzo.com/cgi-bin/miva?~lorenzo/listafam2.mv

The one's I use are convex (A0212) type instead of concave, but I think that shouldn't make any diference regarding the colors. There, on the US, I think you might find them at Happ ... I believe that Lorenzo Industries supplys some parts for Happ ... Check it out or try to get them directly from Spain ...  

Hope this helps ...

[Stingray]

How did you cut those holes?

With a hole saw. The harder type that's made for cutting steel.

How did you bend the metal sheet?

Sheet metal brake. Which is a big device that's made for bending sheet metal if you're unfamiliar with the term.

who would have thought that a body shop could make such great arcade cabinets

Well, my other hobby is car restoration. I guess it's more or less the same skill set that's needed, at least for the cosmetic part.

tell them they should hire you full time for paint and metal work!

The body shop is owned by my dad, and I did used to work there, but a long time ago I decided that I'd rather have a cushy office job. I still use the shop often for my own projects.

I appreciate the compliments guys! I wish it seemd like I was going as fast as it seems to look. I feel like I'm making very little progress each night.

-S

[Stingray]

Another question. Do you think the two buttons on left-front would look better white than black, to match the two white start buttons on the other side?

-S

[PedroSilva]

Another question. Do you think the two buttons on left-front would look better white than black, to match the two white start buttons on the other side?

-S

What are they ? Emulation buttons ? Coin buttons ? ... Hey ... all my choices are based on logic ...  

[Stingray]

One is pause, the other is tab for configuration purposes.

-S

[PedroSilva]

One is pause, the other is tab for configuration purposes.

-S

Well ... for me I'd put the tab Black (Emulation always hiden) and the pause on another color.

[Stingray]

Last night I gutted an older Power Mac G3, and transfered the insides into my cab.



I have a lot of cleaning up to do, but it's all in there and working.

The cab is now running under it's own power! (previously it was connected to my Powerbook)



Hopefully tonight I'll be able to get the controls all reconnected and then I can "test" it with MAME! I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere.  

-S

[Stingray]

I mounted the CD ROM inside the coin door. This seemed like a good idea to make it easier to add software without having to go in through the back panel. This may be common practice for all I know, anyone else done this?



-S

[Stingray]

Added the tinted plexi over the monitor. Makes a big difference in looks.



Also it doesn't show, but I got all of the controls connected back up. After I did that I didn't do much other than play... I mean test the controls.

It's going to be really hard to finish this thing now that it's playable!

-S

[Witchboard]

Looking good.  Everyday I check your thread and I see your cab coming together step by step.  Makes my itchy to get busy on mine.

[Stingray]

Thanks. I'm really happy with the amount of progress I've made on it this week. I can't wait to get off work today so I can get back on it. I think I'll probably do the coin door next. Right now I have a temporary switch that's just hanging loose inside the door opening for 'insert coin'. Kills a little bit of the authenticity.  

I still have the Galaga theme music going in hy head after last night's "testing" session.  

-S

[SirPeale]

I still have the Galaga theme music going in hy head after last night's "testing" session.  

I thought I was the only one.  I know about 'Tetris-Eyes' where you try to fit all shapes into Tetris areas.  But having the theme music to games happens more than I'd like.  Usually it's "Space Invaders."  How annoying is that?

[Stingray]

Pac-Man is another one that tends to stay with me for a while. I guess if we didn't like it, our cabs wouldn't have speakers.  

Speaking of speakers, here's what I did for mine. I removed the original speaker and mounted a pair of gutted computer speakers in it's place. I desoldered the volume control and relocated it on a metal plate that will be mounted behind a hole in the top of the cab so I can reach up and adjust the volume when needed.



I was having a problem with a high pitched noise during hard drive seek times. This was solved by turning the line out level down and volume on the speakers up. Thanks to CM for suggesting this solution in the main forum.

-S

[Iori]

Wow, been a while since I checked up on your project!  It is looking good!  Really good.  I love the super gloss finish... can see reflections in!  

[Stingray]

Thanks Iori! I'm pretty happy with the way the paint turned out.

Here's my latest pic of the full cab:



Got the coin door reassembled and working. The coin door lights are wired into the computer's power supply, so they come on when you power on the computer. Also you can't tell from the pictures, but I have got all of the wiring tied up and organized. Cleaned up that big rat's nest tangle inside.  

The only thing missing at this point is the back door, the lock for the coin door, and of course the artwork. On the subject of the artwork, since I don't have any yet, I just left the protective coating on the marquee plexi, which is why it's green in this pic.

-S

[greywolf22]

Wow Stingray,

Your cabinet is really coming along nicely.  Love what you've done with it so far.  

[SirPeale]

The only thing missing at this point is...the lock for the coin door...

On it's way.  Check your mail daily.

[Stingray]

That reminds me, time to check the mail!  

I posted this in the artwork forum, but I thought I'd post it here too. Just a Photoshop quickie of what it will look like with the artwork in place:



-S

[PedroSilva]

Very nice ... and I see you have found a solution for the CP regardingo to colors .... I like it ...

[Stingray]

Sort of forgot I had this thing. Found it when I was digging through some parts the other day. It's a presentation remote, with a small thumb-operated trackball and a few mouse buttons. It's got a receiver that plugs into the mouse port (which can be mounted anywhere inside the cab, since it's an RF remote and not IR). This thing works great for mouse operations in my cab. Previously I had a trackpad hidden inside the coin door, but this is a much better solution.

-S

[patrickl]

Oh, yes. Good idea. I have used one of these in presentations. Not very practical for everyday use, but for mame that would really be ideal. I bought a Cordless Optical TrackMan already. I hope that will work good too, allthough it is a tad bulky and cannot really be used handheld.


BTW that coindoor looks in really good condition. I was shopping for one of these on ebay for my repro Galaga cab (which one day hopefully will see life), but I found they were either completely rusted away or extremely expensive.

[Stingray]

Mine was in pretty bad condition when I got it. I took it apart and sandblasted it back to bare metal. It's been repainted with a rubberized coating that's made for protecting the underside of a car from rust. I'm hopong this will make it resistant to "quarter scratches".

-S

[SirPeale]

You didn't mention that you had a Midway coin door.  That lock I sent will fit it, but you'll need to either bend the cam or get an offset-out cam.

See http://www.dameon.net/BBBB/camlocks.html

[Stingray]

No problem, I've got a hammer that will do the job nicely. Thanks for the heads up.

-S

[Stingray]

Got the lock Saturday. It only needed a slight bend on the cam to fit. Showed up just in time, we had a little get-together Sunday and the cab got a lot of play that day. I was certainly glad that the door was lockable, didn't want anyone poking around in there while I wasn't looking!

-S

[Stingray]

After I finished designing my CPO, I realised that the carriage bolts were going to totally disrupt the artwork and generally make the control panel look crappy, so off came the panel. Took it back to the shop and welded studs to the back side, and filled in the holes.





This should really clean up the control panel. I'll post a pic as soon as I get it back on the cab.

-S

[Stingray]

No doubt about it, doing away with the carriage bolts was a good idea. I'm glad I took the time to do the extra metal work.

-S

[mozzer]

Unbelievable graphics!

One of the best cabs out there!

[Stingray]

Wow, thanks a lot! I really appreciate that. If you haven't seen it already, check out my "Mini Mayhem" thread in the artwork forum for better pictures of the graphics. On that note, I'd like to thank Patrickl again for allowing me to modify his vectorized version of the Galaga CPO. That certainly simplified the control panel phase of the design work. Everything else I did from scratch. I hope to get the side art and kick panel printed in the next couple of weeks. I haven't even started on the bezel yet.

Here's proof that everyone in the household can enjoy your arcade cab:



-S

[patrickl]

He he everyone has a cat shot. BTW, shouldn't that cat be painted blue? Or at least it should have a blue trim ...  

Hiding the bolts sure was a good idea, but man I hate how good your cab looks How the hell am I gonna build something now that doesn't look silly compared to this?  

[Stingray]

You're stand alond CP looked pretty sharp to me, just need to build the rest of the cab to go along with it. I'm off to buy some blue cat dye.

-S

[rob]

I agree with an earlier comment.  Probly one of the best (if not THE best) cab I've seen on here!  

Outstanding job bro!

[greywolf22]

Your a natural at this   Your cab looks great.  Regarding the cat picture. I thought my cat was the only one who liked to play the classics, I guess not  

[Stingray]

I'm pretty sure she was more facinated by her reflection in the tinted plexi than by anything that was going on onscreen. I'd love to tell you the cab was running Mouse Trap at the time, but best I remember it was Dig Dug.

Again, I really appreciate the compliments!

Next step will be re-wiring the control panel through a printer cable so it can be swapable (lack of foresight or I would have done this to begin with). Then I'll be building another panel for my steering wheel/ shifter setup. This cab has got to have a steering wheel!

-S

[Santoro]

Looking nice, Stingray.  I really need to learn metalwork next.  I like your CP a lot.....

[Stingray]

Thanks Santoro. Due to the odd shape of the control panel on this cab I think it would have been pretty difficult to make a replacement out of wood. Metal seemed like a natural choice. It certainly 'feels' like a real arcade game when I play it.  

I finally got my marquee light installed last night. Another little touch that adds more to the overall look than I thought it would.

-S

[Stingray]

Here's my swappable optical interface. Hacked a mouse to nine pin male din plug and my trackball to a nine pin female din. I'll build something similar for keyboard input as soon as my IPAC gets here.



Now I need to build a panel to mount my trackball on.

-S

[patrickl]

Does a trackball work properly on those mouse electronics? I bought a mouse type trackball . Apparently it's meant to be used on a mac, but as a windows moude replacement it works fine. Just not for games since it doesn't handle rapid motion very well. In fact it doesn't handle it at all (and may actually reverse motion).

[motorfish]

That looks really nice Stingray! I really like that cab a lot!!

[CthulhuLuke]

Whoa Motorfish, I didn't know you were in Redmond, Washington!  I'm over in Bothell, Washington, I'm sure you know where it is.  Actually right now I'm in Pullman going to school, but I'm home this summer and spring break back on the west side.  Know of any good places to look at arcade cabs besides the paper?  haha anyways, back on topic
  Looking good so far, the control panel looks a little smushed together for two people, but the cat is anxious to start playing.  The art is cool, I'm not way too fond of mini's but if you have one then it matches the car, very cool.  The trackball hack is also cool, where'd you draw the power from for the trackball optics btw?

[Stingray]

Does a trackball work properly on those mouse electronics? I bought a mouse type trackball . Apparently it's meant to be used on a mac, but as a windows moude replacement it works fine. Just not for games since it doesn't handle rapid motion very well. In fact it doesn't handle it at all (and may actually reverse motion).

It works great. I tested it in Centepede, Missle Command, Capcom Bowling and Tempest (I know it's a spinner game, but a trackball works okay), it worked great in all of those games. As far as handling rapid motion goes, it works just fine. I didn't even have to mess with any settings to get it where it needs to be.

the control panel looks a little smushed together for two people

Actually there's plenty of room, my brother in law and I play two player games on it when he comes over. Of course neither of us is a really big guy. I'm sure it would be a different story if we were both 300 lbs!  

The art is cool, I'm not way too fond of mini's but if you have one then it matches the car, very cool.

I do indeed have a Mini. The Mini on my artwork is a drawing of my car that I did in Illustrator. Everyone who sees it thinks it's really cool that there's a picture of my car on my arcade game.

The trackball hack is also cool, where'd you draw the power from for the trackball optics btw?

Directly from the computer's power supply. I ran it through the nine pin connector though, so everything runs through that same plug.

That looks really nice Stingray! I really like that cab a lot!!

Thanks! I'm really happy with how it's turning out. I can never manage to leave well enough alone, though. I'll have it together and working for a couple days and then I'll take it apart again to make an improvement. I try to get it back together during the weekends in case we have visitors.  

-S

[Stingray]

Got my IPAC last night. Here's my swappable IPAC interface:



Same deal as the mouse hack above, except everything is going to a 25 pin connector instead of a nine pin. I'm pretty much set up for swappable panels now. Just need to get on the ball and build some!

-S

[Stingray]

Got everything back together and working. Here's a peek inside my coin door:



And the back of the newly rewired and now removable control panel:



-S

[voodoochile]

That is the WORST cab I've ever seen!!!!

(Can you tell Im Jelous?)

awesome job!!

[Witchboard]

I didn't think anybody other than myself still used zip disks.  Good work on the wiring.  Nice and clean.

[Stingray]

I didn't think anybody other than myself still used zip disks.

My desktop computer has a zip drive built in, and I had an old external zip drive I wasn't using so I stuck it in there. It's proven to be very handy for transporting files to the cab. I use it way more often than I use the CD.

-S

[Ghoward]

Cool cab, looks really good......

I have to say you have some really cool stuff on the rest of your website to!

Gary

[Stingray]

Thanks Gary. I do tend to waste a lot of time, but at least I'm good at documenting it.  

-S

[Stingray]

Finally got my second CP assembled & working. Obviously, no artwork yet, and the buttons came out of the parts bin. They'll be replaced as soon as my Bob Roberts order comes in.

Tornado spinner, 3" Imperial trackball & an Omnistick Prodigy are the controls on this one. Good stuff!

-S

[Felsir]

I like the way you keep 'true' to the cab design (white and black button lay-out etc.) In all a great cab!

Can you show pictures how the CP is attached and detached if you want to swap it? Do you have to unscrew bolts or is it a lock mechanism somewhere? I've been wondering how to make swappable panels without the 'look' that it is a swappable panel (uh... weird sentence, I hope you get what I mean here... )

[Stingray]

Nothing terribly tricky about how they're held on. I use the stock panel clamps that were on the cab when I bought it. The bottom of my panels have welded tabs that the clamps latch onto. You just reach up inside the coin door to unclamp them. I agree that this does make the panels look permanently mounted to the cab.

-S

[Santoro]

Gotta compliment you again on how clean the work is on that cab!

How did you cut the slot for the omnistick 4/8way switch?  I might want to do the same thing in plexi on my next cab.


{edited for spelling}

[Stingray]

I actually didn't cut the slot at all. I removed the stick from the mounting plate. Then I traced the mounting plate on the panel. I then carefully cut out the shape using a die grinder, then a dremel and finally a hand file. After I had the hole as close to perfect as I could get I welded it in place from the back and filled the gap on the front with body filler.

-S

[Minwah]

Just had to say it looks great Stingray - I hadn't been keeping an eye on your progress since your artwork posts a while back.

I seem to have done very little in comparison    Oh well, a few hours tonight perhaps...

[Stingray]

MinWah, I was off work all last week which gave me plenty of time to work on my TB/ Spinner panel, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much done.

Next up will be the 360 steering wheel panel most likely. Then of course I need to modify my CPO art to accomidate the new panels.

-S

[Minwah]

MinWah, I was off work all last week which gave me plenty of time to work on my TB/ Spinner panel, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much done.

Next up will be the 360 steering wheel panel most likely. Then of course I need to modify my CPO art to accomidate the new panels.

-S

Sounds good, I got a Pole Position wheel a while back for my wheel panel - a little way off yet tho....

[Stingray]

Mine is from Destruction Derby. I've already got it wired so that it will plug into my mouse hack "port", but due to it's shape at the base I'm going to have to do a little more engineering on the panel than the previous two required. The base is too long to fit on the front of my panel, so I'm going to have to make some kind of insert on the panel to fit it to. I haven't really decided how to approach this yet.

Also I haven't got any pedals yet (and am not really sure how I'm going to connect them to my cab when I do get them) so there's no big rush on the wheel panel anyway.

-S

[Minwah]

Mine is from Destruction Derby. I've already got it wired so that it will plug into my mouse hack "port", but due to it's shape at the base I'm going to have to do a little more engineering on the panel than the previous two required. The base is too long to fit on the front of my panel, so I'm going to have to make some kind of insert on the panel to fit it to. I haven't really decided how to approach this yet.

Also I haven't got any pedals yet (and am not really sure how I'm going to connect them to my cab when I do get them) so there's no big rush on the wheel panel anyway.

-S

Well I have my pedals sorted, the wiring at least.  They are going to be an itegral part of my cab (pic), I just need to give them a sanding and re-spray, and apply some new grip-tape.

My wheel is in worse shape tho - rusty chrome, I'm not sure whether to blast it and get it re-chromed, or spray it black.  Chrome would be nice but then I'll need to sort out the 'grip' part...

[patrickl]

I was thinking about making a set of pedals slide out of the bottom centre of my cab. There should be enough space below the cab to house it. I'm not sure how good a set of sit down pedals will work whilst standing up though.

Minwah's pedals look like the real thing. Really cool!

[Minwah]

I was thinking about making a set of pedals slide out of the bottom centre of my cab. There should be enough space below the cab to house it. I'm not sure how good a set of sit down pedals will work whilst standing up though.

Minwah's pedals look like the real thing. Really cool!

Are you going to use PC pedals or arcade pedals?  I think *some* arcade pedals are used in both stand-up and sit-down cabs (not 100% sure tho).  I think you'll be ok, it's probably worse using stand-up pedals in a sit down cab.

Those pedals I have are the Happ type, usually mounted on a black metal plate.  I just removed the plate so I didn't have to make a big cut-out on the front panel

[patrickl]

I was thinking about using my Act LABS performance pedal set (with 3 pedals). I haven't really tried since I don't even have a cab yet   , but I assume I will have to do some modding on them.

[Minwah]

I was thinking about using my Act LABS performance pedal set (with 3 pedals). I haven't really tried since I don't even have a cab yet   , but I assume I will have to do some modding on them.

They might well be OK - if you can locate them 'in' more than your control panel then the angle of the pedals look like they will be fine

[SkateDetroit]

Kick ass cab! I really dig the artwork. I also love all the projects on your website. Don't hurt any little kids with your siege weaponery! heh

[Stingray]

Minwah, how are those pedals interfaced with your cab? Are they pot based? I'm unsure how to hook something like that up. I was thinking of hacking a USB analog joystick, but then I saw Dave's recent post saying that his analog interface card will be available soon. I'm thinking I might just wait for that.

SkateDetroit, thanks for the compliments on my cab & other toys. Everyone should have their own trebuchet, it's great fun!

-S

[Minwah]

Minwah, how are those pedals interfaced with your cab? Are they pot based? I'm unsure how to hook something like that up. I was thinking of hacking a USB analog joystick, but then I saw Dave's recent post saying that his analog interface card will be available soon. I'm thinking I might just wait for that.

SkateDetroit, thanks for the compliments on my cab & other toys. Everyone should have their own trebuchet, it's great fun!

Yes they have a pot for each pedal...I wired them up to the gameport with a DPDT switch for single/dual axis setup.  I would have gone for Dave's interface but a) I couldn't wait, and b) I don't really need all the axis and USB hot-swapping since the pedals will be permanantly plugged in.  For Mac I would think Dave's interface is the way to go

BTW I don't know if it would work on Mac but you can get Gameport > USB convertors, if you did want to try that route.  This is the page I used for reference: http://www.gunpowder.freeserve.co.uk/wheels/wiring.htm

[Stingray]

I actually do have a gameport adaptor, but I think I'll wait for Dave's interface anyway. Eventually I'd like to build a Star Wars yoke panel, and his card should greatly simplify hooking that up.

-S

[Minwah]

I actually do have a gameport adaptor, but I think I'll wait for Dave's interface anyway. Eventually I'd like to build a Star Wars yoke panel, and his card should greatly simplify hooking that up.

Yes, good idea.  I do plan on getting one of Dave's interface for a control panel I have in mind which has an analog stick, and a paddle...eventually...

Good news is my cab building is done!    I just need to paint and finish it now...

[Stingray]

So where's your project announcement thread? Post some pics so we can all check it out! IMO building the actual cab is the hard part (which is why I did a conversion). Putting all the electronic goodies inside is pure fun!

-S

[Minwah]

So where's your project announcement thread? Post some pics so we can all check it out! IMO building the actual cab is the hard part (which is why I did a conversion). Putting all the electronic goodies inside is pure fun!

Agreed.  I'm not looking forward to the final painting of it (I hate painting), but I can't wait to install the electronics

It looks pretty ropey atm (a mixture of wood, filler, primer, topcoat: I did a bit of experimenting with paint mid-way through!) so I will wait for a while before 'announcing'!

[Stingray]

Well at least take some pics of it while it's still "ropey". That way you can post some great before & after shots.

-S

[Minwah]

Well at least take some pics of it while it's still "ropey". That way you can post some great before & after shots.

-S

I've taken quite a number...ok I can't resist, here's a quicky:

(I had to get it up and running for a while so the 'shed owners' could have a go)

[Stingray]

What front end is that?      

Looks good, mine was spotty like that not long ago. Are you going to spray it or roll it?

-S

[Minwah]

What front end is that?      

Looks good, mine was spotty like that not long ago. Are you going to spray it or roll it?

Roll it.  I tried it before, before it was 'finished', and it looked awful  I think it was mainly due to the paint (Crown) I used - when it dried it looked very patchy, and it marked really easily.  The Dulux equiv. I have now seems much better.

Of course English winter temperature and my poor technique didn't help either    Hopefully now it's warmed up a touch, and I've had some practice it should be OK this time...

[Witchboard]

Okay, this is my official nagging post for you to get your side art done on your cab.  I noticed you posted an up to date picture in another thread and that beautiful side art you created has still not found its home.  Okay, nag over.  

[Stingray]

that beautiful side art you created has still not found its home

Wow, you posted this nearly a year ago and I just noticed it. I also have still not had my side art printed. Now that's some good procrastination.

-S

[Witchboard]

I guess it's time for my yearly nagging then... 

Here... I'll even say it in Okie-talk.  Git 'er done!

[Stingray]

Seems like every time I have a little extra cash in my pocket I end up buying something else (gaming related) with it. I'll do my best to get it printed before the next yearly nagging comes around though.

-S